Wire-stretching machine.



E. PREATOR.

WIRE STRETCHING MACHINE. APPLlcAnoN FILED Aue.s,1914.

1,142,908. Patented June 15, 1915.

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E. PREATOR.

WIRE STBETCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man was, 1914.

1,142,908. Patented June 15, 19.15. n 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- f@ attrozws'ia rin: :wams PETERs co.. wAsHmcrorl, l:4 c.

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EUGENE rEEa'roE, or BURLINGTON, wYoMING.

WIRE-STRETCHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 15, 1915.

Application led August 8, 1914. Serial No. 855,778.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE PREATOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Burlington, in the county of Bighorn and State of lVyoming, have invented a new and useful Tire-Stretching Machine; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved wire stretching machine, and an object of the invention is to provide a machine of this nature comprising essential, efficient and practical features of construction.

One of the features of construction is the provision of a bar having curved forks at one end provided with oppositely disposed plates connecting said forks, there being a sprocket between said'plates with which a sprocket chain engages, the curved forks acting to guard and hold the chain upon the sprocket, there being a toothed wheel and dog adjacent one of said plates to hold the sprocket in adjusted positions as well as holding the chain also in adjusted positions, or taut.V

.In practical fields the details of construction may be subjected to alterations, falling within the scope of what is claimed.

The invention comprises further features and combination of parts, as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings :--Figure 1 is a plan view showing one application of the stretcher. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation and partly in section, showing the detail features of the stretching mechanism. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view upon an angular line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking in two directions, as indicated by the arrows a and b. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation, showing a modified form of ratchet and sprocket mechanism for manipulating the chain 23, for stretching a wire which is gripped or clamped in one of the` grippers or clamps 25. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the form of construction shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the modied ratchet and sprocket mechanism shown in Fig. 4, and illustrating one 0f thek clamps 25 as having been inserted through a ring so that the chain 23 will engage the ring, whereby a wire meshwork may be stretched. Fig. 7 is a sectional View on line 9-9 of Fig. 4.

Referring more especially `to the drawings, 1 designates a bar, which may be of any desired length and construction. However, this bar terminates at one end in an eye 3 and a hook 4. The other end of the bar terminates in curved forks 5. Riveted to the forks upon the opposite faces are oppositely disposed plates 6, and mounted in bearings of said plates is a short shaft 7 having a sprocket wheel 8, which is arranged between said plates. Also riveted at 6a to the face of one of the plates 6 at one end thereof is an L-shaped plate. 7a, as shown clearly in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; The short shaft 7 has one end mounted in said L-shaped plate, as shown clearly in Fig.k 3. A lever l12a having a crank handle 12b is provided, and has its forkedv end 12c loosely pivoted or mounted upon the lshort shaft 7. Between the forks of said lever 12a is a toothed wheel 9, which is keyed at v14a to the shaft 7. TheV lever 12a adjacent the crotch between the forks of said lever is provided with a pocket l2?, in which a dog or pin 18 is mounted. This dog or pin 18 is cylindrical in contour andis provided with a contracted shank 18b extending through a bore 18c and provided with a head 18d. The lever 12it is provided with a transverse opening 12", in which the head 18d is located. A spring 15a surrounds the shank 18b and is interposed between the pin 18 and one end of the pocket 12d, and acting to hold the pin 18 in engagement with the toothed wheel 9.

The L-shaped plate 6a is provided with a pocket 6f, in which a dog or pin 6g similar to the pin 18 is mounted. The attending parts of the pin 6g are'identical with those of thev pin 18. However, when the lever 12a is moved downwardly in the direction of the arrow e, the pin 18 will slipV over or by the teeth of the wheel 9, in order to gain the hold or contactfwithanother tooth of the wheel 9. In moving the lever 12 downwardly in this manner so that the pin 18 will engage another tooth, the pin 6g will act to prevent retrogression of the wheel 9. When rotation causing the .shaft 7 to correspondv ingly rotate and with it the sprocket 8, which will operate the chain 23. When rotating the wheel 9 in this manner the pin 6g rides or slips over the teeth thereof. The slipping of the pins or dogs 6g and 18 over said teeth is allowed, owing to said dog being beveled o as shown at 24a. A quick movement of the lever 12a as it imparts an intermittent motion to the toothed wheel and shaft 7 and in turn to the sprocket 8, and by adjusting the pins or dogs 6g and 18, so that said bevels will face just theopposite to that shown in Fig. 2, an intermittent motion may be imparted to the toothed wheel, ythe shaft 7, and the sprocket 8 in a reverse direction. lWhen the chain 23 is secured around a post and one of the vclamps 25 clamping said chain 23 and a wire to be stretched clamped in another clamp 25, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, and the lever 12a manipulated, the wire may be stretched. A wire maybe stretched in another manner, by placing the chain 27 in engagement with a post as shown in Fig. 4 (which shows a modified form of cranking, ratchet and sprocket mechanism for operating the chain 23), and the wire clamped or gripped in one of the clamps 25 `of the chain 23, and by turning the crank 12 or lever, motion may be imparted 'to the chain '23 for stretching the wire. The form and construction shown in Fig. 1 may be used and applied inthe manner `similar tothat shown in Fig. 4, or in a manner similarf'to that shown in Fig. '6.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the form'df lever 12f=L is dispensed with, and a crank handle 12 substituted, which crank handle is provided with rectangular openings 11 to engage the rectangular extension 10 of the shaft 7, on which the sprocket 8 andthe toothed ywheel 9 may ybe keyed (not shown), and when using the crank handle 12 only one dog or pin 18h (which is similar tto thepins 16g and 18) is used.

The dog or pin 18h comprises an enlarged cylindrical portion at its lower end, and 1a contracted cylindrical extension at the other end portion. The contracted cylindrical portion 18k engages the contracted portion ofthe bore 17, while the enlarged cylindrical portion 19 engages the larger portion of the bore 17, there being a coil spring interposed between the shoulder 20 of the dog vor pin and the shoulder 21 'of -said bore, acting to hold the dog in engagementwith any one-of the notches of the toothed wheel, so as yto hold the sprocket in yadjusted positions, which in turn holds the sprocket chain 23 taut. The lower end of the enlarged portion of said dog is beveled as shown at 24, and owing to the pin or dog being cylindrical, it will be observedfthat the dog may be rotated partially, :so that the beveled :portion may be disposed in such wise that the toothed wheel may slip by the-dog in one direction ythe first instance.

or the other. For instance, if one of the clamps 25 o'f the sprocket chain 23 is connected to one wire, and the sprocket chain pulls to stretch said wire, the dog will slip by the teeth ofthe toothed wheel, which is being rotated in one direction. The clamp of the other end of the sprocket chain, which "is then longer than the rst portion, is

placed in engagement with another wire to be stretched. In this case the dog or pin must be partially rotated, so that the beveled portion thereof will permit the toothed wheel to slip by, the same moving in a direction .just the opposite to the direction in A chain 27 is connected to the eye 3, `and the other end of this chain is connected to a clamp 25. Both ends of the sprocket chain are yprovided with clamps 25. Each clamp comprises a body portion 28 having an eye 29 at one end 'to ywhich a chain is connected, while the other end portion of the body is in the form of a flat plate having an elongated slot 31 and provided with laterally extending flanges 32 and 33. The flange 32 is ina position parallel to the slot, while the flange l33 is arranged at an angle to the slot. Arranged in the slot is a roller bearing -34 having an .annular groove 35, which is engaged -by the opposite edges of the slot. This groove is formed, owing to one of Xtheend portions'36'of the roller bearing being shrunk upon :the roller bearing. In clamping a wire, the same is placed between -the Ithreaded portion 'of the roller bearing andthe lateral .flange which extends at an angle to the` slot, and the roller bearing so adjusted as to frictionally yengagefthe wire, as shown in theidrawing.

In using the machine or device `in the manner shown in Fig. 1, the lsprocket chain is'pa'ssed about a post or 'the like, and the clamp is arranged so that the body of the sprocket vchain engages :between the roller bearing and the flange which kextends at an angle to the-slot, zthen'the clamp at the end of the otherV chain Eis placed in `engagement with the wire, subsequently to which the shaft `is yrotated by fthe lever '1221.

In using the device or machine in the manner as illustrated Vin IFig. 4, 'the chain 27 is .fastenedabout a post or-the like, and one lof the links of said ichain arranged in 'engagement with'the hook o-fsaid bar, and one of the-clamps'at one end or thefother of the sprocket chain is placed in engagement with a wire to be stretched, subsequently to the shaft which is rotated by the crank handle.

.lnlusing-thefdevice or machine in the man== ner as illustrated .in Fig. 6, the sprocket chain is larranged in an eyeof the clamping `frame 38, which in turn clamps a wire netting, subsequentlytowhich the 'shaft is ro- Vtated by ythe tcrank handle.

Any suitable chains .may 4be used in conjunction with this machine, therefore it is to be understood that the patentee is not limited to any particular form of chain.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed as new and useful is l. In a device as set forth, a frame cornprising a bar having a hook at one end, and curved forks at the other end, a connection between the hook including' a clamp and a wire to be stretched, a pair of plates fixed upon opposite faces of the curved forks, a sprocket wheel mounted between said plates, a shaft mounted in the plates and on which shaft the sprocket wheel is keyed, a cranking member on one end of the shaft, a toothed wheel keyed to the other end of the shaft, means to coperate with the toothed wheel so that it may be rotated in one direction or the other and prevented from rotation in an opposite direction and vice versa, and connections between the sprocket wheel and an anchoring member.

2. In a device as set forth, a frame comprisin a bar having an eye at one end, and curve forks at the other end, a connection between the eye including a clamp and the wire to be stretched, a pair of plates fixed upon opposite faces of said forks, a sprocket wheel mounted between said plates, a shaft mounted in the plates and on which shaft the sprocket Wheel is keyed, an L-shaped plate mounted upon one face of one of the plates, and having a bearing in which one end of said shaft is mounted, a lever loosely `mounted upon thel shaft between the L- shaped plate and the adjacent plate, said lever having a forked end which is loosely mounted on the shaft, a toothed wheel on the shaft between the forks, reversible means carried by the lever to engage the toothed wheel, whereby an intermittent motion maybe imparted to the toothed wheel and shaft in one direction or the other, and reversible means carried by the L-shaped plate to prevent retrogression of the toothed wheel, and connections between the sprocket wheel and an anchoring member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EUGENE PREATOR. Witnesses:

WALTER S. HIBBERT, WILLIAM R. FRIEsE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C." Y 

